Hillary: I take responsibility for Benghazi

posted at 8:48 pm on October 15, 2012 by Allahpundit

Fearless prediction: With Hillary having now formally accepted blame, President Above The Fray will magnanimously volunteer at tomorrow night’s debate that, no no, it is with him that the buck ultimately stops. The White House has been holding off on doing that because they’re desperate to frame this as an internal problem at State. Now that Clinton’s gone and done that, Obama can pose as a stand-up guy and loyal boss by symbolically accepting responsibility on behalf of the people who are really at fault.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the bucks stops with her when it comes to who is blame for a deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi.

“I take responsibility” for what happened on September 11, Clinton said in an interview with CNN’s Elise Labott soon after arriving in Lima, Peru for a visit. The interview, one of a series given to U.S. television networks Monday night, were the first she has given about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

Clinton insisted President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are not involved in security decisions, Clinton said.

“I want to avoid some kind of political gotcha,” she added, noting that it is close to the election.

Ace has another quote from her that essentially puts the whole thing off on her underlings, but there’s no link and I don’t see it in the CNN story. No matter, though: She’s not claiming actual responsibility in the excerpt above, just symbolic responsibility as the head of the Department that’s at fault. Given how the public generally respects showy professions of blame, it’s really the easiest thing in the world to make a “buck stops here” statement. The One himself would have done it weeks ago, I’m sure, if not for the fact that he’s caught in an election death struggle and knows the GOP would have hammered him with it. (As I explained above, it’s safer politically for him to do it now that Hillary’s chimed in.) The only way to make a “buck stops here” admission truly meaningful is to put some meat on the bone by identifying and correcting all the things that you’ve done wrong. Has Hillary done any of that yet? What protocols at State are going to change from all of this? Are we finished, at least, with pitiful public groveling to Islamists about how awful and terrible and reprehensible that Mohammed movie that hurt their feelings was?

Here’s the real question: Did Obama put Hillary up to this or did she do it on her own initiative to put O on the spot? As I’ve explained, I think this actually helps him by letting him accept symbolic responsibility while continuing to shunt actual responsibility onto State. But maybe I’m wrong. A friend e-mailed me after I wrote this post on Friday scolding me for thinking that Obama might throw Hillary under the bus rather than vice versa. After all, she’d have an easier time running in 2016 against President Romney than she would trying to succeed a two-term Democratic president. (Although, in that case, why did Bill Clinton give a wildly successful speech for O at the convention?) And as I said Friday, there is political peril for O in having Hillary go first on this. Potentially, he’ll look weak and diffident tomorrow night by following her lead, not loyal and magnanimous — and maybe Hillary knew that when she stepped up. Expect Romney to hammer that point, especially given how much he enjoys playing the Clintons off of Obama. What kind of “leader” says “the buck stops here” only after it’s already stopped somewhere else?

Here’s the vid, via CNN. This will, assuredly, be used against Hillary in 2016 if she runs, but I think she figures that between her high favorables and the fact that the public likes when executives “take charge” by accepting blame or whatever, she’ll be forgiven by voters. Quite possible.

Update: Ace e-mails to say that the Hillary quote in his post came from Wendell Goler on Fox News, who also interviewed Clinton today. They put it up on the screen sometime early this evening.

Breaking on Hot Air

Blowback

Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.

Drudge has it now…in red. This is going to make for a hot mess for Zero just hours before the debate. “Mr. President, are you satisfied that this was all Hillary Clinton’s fault? Mr. President, will you fire Mrs. Clinton? Mr. President, doesn’t the buck stop with you? Mr. President, how involved are you in the State Department? Mr. President, did Mrs. Clinton lie to you about the videotape?”

This makes it harder for Romney to hammer Obama on it at the debate as a well respected, generally liked (ahem, Hillary) has “taken responsibility” for it. It would lend to Obama’s argument that Romney is politicizing what happened.

Now that Clinton’s gone and done that, Obama can pose as a stand-up guy and loyal boss by symbolically accepting responsibility on behalf of the people who are really at fault.

So, Allah, we are supposed to believe that Charlene Lamb, who followed the attack in real time on video/telephone from the Command Centre, didn’t tell Hillary that it was a terrorist attack and Hillary didn’t tell Obama before standing next to him in the Rose Garden when he made his first address to the nation?

So either:
1) Obama is incompetent and has not been communicating AT ALL with his STATE department during a TERRORIST attack
2) Obama has appointed someone who is completely incompetent and deliberately left him “out of the loop” for political purposes
3) Obama is/has been lying.

None of these exactly speak to Obama’s brilliance as commander in chief.

This makes it harder for Romney to hammer Obama on it at the debate as a well respected, generally liked (ahem, Hillary) has “taken responsibility” for it. It would lend to Obama’s argument that Romney is politicizing what happened.

stuckinwisconsin on October 15, 2012 at 8:52 PM

All Romney has to do is if he does say “the buck stops here” is turn to him and say why the coverup and why did it take you so long to accept responsibility.

With Hillary having now formally accepted blame, President Above The Fray will magnanimously volunteer at tomorrow night’s debate that, no no, it is with him that the buck ultimately stops.

I doubt that. Rat-ears has not taken responsibility for anything but, if he does, Gov. Romney should politely ask that if the buck stops with him- why did he go off to party and fundraise in Vegas when one of our ambassadors was still smoldering in a third-world rathole.

This makes it harder for Romney to hammer Obama on it at the debate as a well respected, generally liked (ahem, Hillary) has “taken responsibility” for it. It would lend to Obama’s argument that Romney is politicizing what happened.

stuckinwisconsin on October 15, 2012 at 8:52 PM

Hardly. This gives Romney an absolutely awesome opportunity to say: “You take all the credit in the world for the rare success, and assign all the blame in the world on others for your many failures. Leaders take responsibility in good times and bad. When I’m president I won’t be asking the people who work for me to fall on their swords hours before the biggest debate of my political life to save me from a growing scandal. That’s not what a leader does.”

They’re all a bunch of lying slugs. As the chief executive and commander in chief Obama is responsible, just as a general is responsible for a major combat loss. Hillary knows that with Obama she’s home free so she has nothing to fear by falling on her sword. It’s time to get rid of all those incompetent losers.

No. As much as I would like to think this is Hillary plotting to take down Obama, I think it’s the Janet Reno kind of admission. It will quietly away. I hate Obama and the Clintons; they’re both guilty as hell.

Romney should point blank ask Obama tomorrow night at the debate when he will fire Clinton for failing to secure the consulate which resulted in the deaths of four Americans.He should also ask him if his administration will report to the American people on the truth of what happened in Benghazi before the election.

Convenient. She’s leaving State anyway after the election so Obama doesn’t even have to fire her. It’s too bad that Obama’s greatness is always being compromised by people like Hillary who let him down with these bad decisions. Hard to get good help.

He got elected because he was black and could read a teleprompter. Nothing more.

Lanceman on October 15, 2012 at 8:58 PM

Get the conversation going, seriously. So your bet is that they did it because they’re still too stupid to think the media can cover them on this one? Serious question, Lance. Because it’s not making sense from any angle to me.

Problem is, AP is right in this instance and you know it: BHO will grandstand while he and Biden and Hillary all skate, and to show you they “mean business”, a few underlings will be thrown under the bus at State – and any further questions will be rejected as “politicizing” the issue.

Republicans need to seriously grow a pair and hold this group of idiots accountable.

Hardly. This gives Romney an absolutely awesome opportunity to say: “You take all the credit in the world for the rare success, and assign all the blame in the world on others for your many failures. Leaders take responsibility in good times and bad. When I’m president I won’t be asking the people who work for me to fall on their swords hours before the biggest debate of my political life to save me from a growing scandal. That’s not what a leader does.”

Get the conversation going, seriously. So your bet is that they did it because they’re still too stupid to think the media can cover them on this one? Serious question, Lance. Because it’s not making sense from any angle to me.

hawkdriver on October 15, 2012 at 9:01 PM

Of course not. You ain’t a lyin’, conniving ‘rat desperately trying to hold onto the power to subjugate.

There buttholes are desperate. Flailing blindly hoping something will sucker the voters.

Didn’t think she would fall on her broomstick for Barry – but I think the regime still has a lot of problems with this. I’m pretty sure they instructed Susan Rice to go on national television and lie to the American people.

Redware, NO. Don’t turn Hillary into a victim. Rather, you demand OBAMA assume responsibility and ask him why he and Biden are throwing the SOS under the bus (war on women!) jetted off to Vegas and The View rather than convene a national security meeting.

Everybody always looks for an angle when the Clintons do something. What are they up to? What is the real story here? Maybe there isn’t anything more here. Maybe the Clintons just aren’t the expert backroom players eveybody thinks they are.

This attempts to shove under the carpet the “Lack of security” issue but not the LYING and COVER UP issues.

Hillary Clinton can’t claim responsibility for the American people being lied to repeatedly for weeks.

Varchild on October 15, 2012 at 9:02 PM

Yeah. She’s done a “ball’s in your court, barack” thing here, hasn’t she? “I’ll take responsibility for the screwed up security. The cover up? Well that’s the story now, and you’re on your own, champ.”

The Sec. of State being responsible for security at the embassies is obvious.
The bigger question is who decided to send out Jay Carney, Susan Rice, eta all with that “spontaneous protest over a video that turned violent” lie that the Obama White House shilled for 2 weeks?

I’m assuming you are equating Mogudishu to Benghazi but, as much as I like your posts, I think you are a tad off base here. Aspin also had serious health problems and had proven himself unfit for the job.

This is more akin to Janet Reno incinerating all those innocent Branch Davidians by her incompetence, taking responsibility, but refusing to resign.